Sending shockwaves through Croatia on Tuesday, a powerful earthquake killed the lives of seven individuals. It caused massive damages to a town south of the country's capital, Zagreb, based on the reports coming from the country's officials and its residents.
According to the European Mediterranean Seismological Center, the earthquake struck at around 6:20 a.m. ET with a magnitude 6.4, as the initial tremor was trailed by a series of weaker aftershocks.
Tomo Medved, the Defense Minister of Croatia initially reported six deaths.
Medved shared to the reporters that they have a lot of victims, and in the city of Glina, in the town of Majske Poljane, five deaths have been confirmed so far, and with a girl from Petrinja, there is a total of six individuals who died in this devastating earthquake.
Later, the chief of Lekenik Municipality, Ivica Perovic also confirmed that there is a body of a man found in the wreckage of a local church in the village of Zazine, which increased the death toll to seven.
Based on the information coming from the United State Geological Survey, it is the strongest earthquake that occurred in the country of Croatia since the advent of the modern seismic instrument as they slightly experienced smaller earthquake that shook Zagreb in 1880.
The tremors on Tuesday hit Petrinja the hardest, which is a town in central Croatia, and a home of nearly 24,000 people.
Based on the information released by the government-owned news website HINA, buildings collapsed as debris filled the streets, while a woman was trapped under rubble.
According to Aljazeera, a 12-year-old girl was killed in Petrinja and another four individuals in villages close to the town.
Officials also reported that at least 20 individuals were hospitalized including two persons who suffered serious injuries.
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Petrinja Mayor Darinko Dumbovic also shared to the AP that his town has been completely devastated as it is like Hiroshima, wherein half of the city no longer exists.
The Petrinja Mayor also added that his town residents were pulling people out of their cars and did not know about the further deaths or injuries.
He also mentioned that a kindergarten building also collapsed but luckily there were no children inside the infrastructure.
According to Reuters, despite the collapsing of the buildings in Zagreb, no deaths were initially reported in the city.
Moreover, Reuters also added that a nuclear power plant in neighboring Slovenia was immediately shut down because of the earthquake, while it is also felt as far as the capital of Austria, Vienna.
The Prime Minister of Croatia, Andrej Plenkovic shared that he was on his way to the area and had mobilized the recovery efforts.
On the other hand, President of the European Council, Charles Michel also mentioned that the European Union offers its full support and assistance to all of the people of Croatia in this catastrophic time, NPR reported.
The earthquake on Tuesday came only a day after the 5.0 earthquake that the country saw.
Based on the United States Geological Survey, there have been three magnitudes of 6.0 earthquakes within the estimated 125-mile radius of the area since 1900.
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